


The Curious Courtship of Kikumaru Eiji and Kaidoh Kaoru

by tilda



Category: Prince of Tennis
Genre: Animal Transformation, Catboys & Catgirls, Locker Room, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-11-28
Updated: 2009-11-28
Packaged: 2017-10-03 22:09:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tilda/pseuds/tilda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kikumaru was acting strangely and Kaidoh was the only one who had noticed.</p><p> </p><p>  <span class="small">Written 08/09</span></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Curious Courtship of Kikumaru Eiji and Kaidoh Kaoru

 

Kikumaru was acting strangely and Kaidoh was the only one who had noticed.

It had started that day with those kids, when Kikumaru had told him that story. Kikumaru had put his arm round Kaidoh and leaned in close - so close that Kaidoh could smell him. The smell was familiar. Kaidoh couldn't put his finger on what it was, but it was a smell he liked. It was warm and animal and it made Kaidoh think of fur. It made him feel relaxed.

He noticed other things too, like the fact that Kikumaru didn't take showers with the others. While everybody else was in and out with their towels and soap and washbags, Kikumaru swung from the coathooks and snapped towels and bugged Oishi and knuckled Echizen's head, but never went near the water. Once Momo shook out his wet hair like a dog and only Kaidoh saw how Kikumaru cringed away from the spray even as he laughed. Kaidoh may have heard Kikumaru hiss slightly too, he wasn't sure. Kikumaru was always the last out of the clubhouse, and told the others to go on ahead, he'd catch them up.

Kikumaru liked to climb a tree at lunchtime and have his lunch there.

'Come up! It's fun!' he called to Oishi on the ground.

But Oishi declined. He didn't have Kikumaru's head for heights.

One time, Kaidoh was returning from his own lunch - he went home some days - and saw Kikumaru come down from his tree. Kikumaru didn't climb down, but jumped, landing softly and bending his knees. The branch he had been sitting on was ten or twelve feet up, Kaidoh was sure, but Kikumaru just brushed himself off and walked away. When Kikumaru had gone Kaidoh stood looking up at the tree for a long time.

Another time, Kaidoh found Kikumaru curled up asleep in the janitor's cupboard. He had been missing for over an hour and his home-room teacher had recognised Kaidoh as Kikumaru's team-mate and delegated him to find Kikumaru. For a full-grown boy, Kikumaru didn't seem to take up much space in the cupboard. His knees were drawn up to his chin and his hands clasped together under his cheek. He was breathing very fast - little puffs through his nose that surely weren't giving him enough oxygen. Kaidoh leaned closer. He knew about heart-rates from Inui. He reached out and gently took hold of Kikumaru's wrist without dislodging it and felt for his pulse. He looked at his watch and counted Kikumaru's pulse for fifteen seconds then multiplied it by four, as Inui had shown him. Kikumaru's sleeping heart-rate was about twice Kaidoh's before he started practice.

Kikumaru woke up then and yawned, showing his tongue and wrinkling his nose. His teeth were small and widely spaced out. Kaidoh took his hand away.

'Oh, Kaidoh-kun,' Kikumaru said, looking around at the janitor's cupboard as if he wasn't quite sure how he had got there.

'You have to go back to class,' said Kaidoh, looking at Kikumaru. He could still feel Kikumaru's pulse fluttering at the tip of his index finger. It was as if Kaidoh's finger had acquired a pulse of its own.

One day after practice Kaidoh forgot his bicycle-lights and had to go back to the clubhouse to get them. He was pretty sure he knew where he'd left them so he didn't bother switching on the light. He spotted them on the bench and was about to go over when he sensed a movement in the corner. He turned towards the movement, but he couldn't make out what it was. After a minute his eyes adjusted to the gloom and it became clear. It was Kikumaru.

Kikumaru was washing himself, not with soap and water, but with his hands and his tongue.

Kaidoh didn't move. He forgot about his bike-lights. He just watched Kikumaru wash himself.

First Kikumaru licked his hand from heel to fingertip in a long wet stripe - Kaidoh could tell it was very wet because Kikumaru's tongue glistened in the dimness of the clubhouse. Then Kikumaru drew it over his bare skin in short brushing motions. First he did his shoulders, then moved on to his chest. He went over the whole of his upper body in the same way. Then he started washing his ears, and Kaidoh suddenly had that same dizzying sense of familiarity that Kikumaru's smell had given him. He still couldn't quite work out what it was.

When Kikumaru was done with his upper body, he stood up - he was completely naked, Kaidoh noticed - to move on to his lower half. As he straightened up, Kaidoh saw what he thought at first was a fifth limb. Then it unfurled, sleek and furred, lifting up to sway parallel to Kikumaru's back, and Kaidoh finally realised what he was looking at. He gasped into the stillness of the clubhouse.

Kikumaru turned, instinctively covering himself, the hair on his head rising slightly as if electrified, and - this time Kaidoh was sure - hissing in fear and anger. Without thinking, Kaidoh raised his hands pacifyingly and was about to hunker down to make himself smaller when he remembered that Kikumaru was the same size as him.

'It's okay,' he said instead.

'Kaidoh,' said Kikumaru, still trying futilely to cover his nakedness with his hands. 'Please. Don't…'

Kaidoh noted with dismay that Kikumaru's tail was now tightly curled against the small of his back.

'It's okay,' he said again. He began to move forward, still holding his hands out. Usually in this situation he would be sitting on his heels and making a small shape with his hands, and clicking and cooing with his mouth. What he was doing now seemed to be working though. Kikumaru was looking at him with less fear. Kaidoh stopped when he was still a couple of feet away from Kikumaru.

'You've got a tail,' he said.

Kikumaru looked away.

'I'm a freak,' he said.

Kaidoh frowned.

'I think it's nice,' he said angrily.

Kikumaru turned back and looked at him strangely.

'Really?' he said.

Kaidoh nodded.

Kikumaru looked at Kaidoh for a beat longer and then shyly turned and unfurled his tail a little. The tail was well-kept, sleek and soft. Kaidoh wanted to reach out and touch it, but Kikumaru was still quite jumpy. Kaidoh looked back at Kikumaru's face and nodded again.

'Yes, really,' he said. His voice came out in a half-whisper, which surprised him.

Then Kikumaru unfurled his tail completely. It rose up behind his back, reaching his head and curling slightly so that it touched the ends of his hair. Kikumaru closed his eyes and looked happy as he let his tail out, stretching his body in pride.

Kaidoh moved a little closer.

Then he noticed Kikumaru's ears, two furred triangles poking out from underneath his hair. He forgot his caution and stepped forward without thinking. Kikumaru didn't react until Kaidoh had touched him. He twitched and his eyes snapped open but Kaidoh knew it was all right. He was used to this; he knew what to do. He scratched firmly around Kikumaru's ear, feeling how far the fur spread onto the scalp. Kikumaru's eyes sank shut again and he nudged into Kaidoh's hand. Normally Kaidoh would have spread his hand to scratch both ears at once but Kikumaru's ears were too far apart, so Kaidoh raised his other hand to the other ear. It was a bit weird standing there with his hands either side of Kikumaru's head scratching his ears, but it was somehow okay too. Kaidoh dug his fingers into all the crevices of bone and skin he could find, giving Kikumaru what he needed, and Kikumaru pushed into Kaidoh's touch and started to purr. It was louder than an ordinary purr and Kaidoh could feel Kikumaru's body thrum through his hands.

It was at this point that Kaidoh lost his mind a little.

He closed his eyes and reached down and took hold of Kikumaru's tail at the base and stroked it all the way to the tip. The fur was incredibly soft, covering a thick hardness beneath. Then Kaidoh rested his hand at the base of the tail, waiting for Kikumaru's reaction - the tail was always the most sensitive area - but Kikumaru just sighed and pressed himself against Kaidoh, his purr becoming louder. So Kaidoh stroked the tail again, feeling the size of it under his palm. Other tails had always felt too small. This fit his hand perfectly.

They were embracing now, and Kikumaru was naked, and it was impossible for Kaidoh to ignore Kikumaru's erection any longer. Kikumaru was rubbing himself gently against Kaidoh's hip in a way that made Kaidoh wonder if Kikumaru knew he was doing it. Kikumaru's hands were resting lightly on Kaidoh's hips and his face nuzzled against Kaidoh's neck and Kaidoh was stroking Kikumaru's tail with one hand (he couldn't stop, he never wanted to stop) and massaging his ear - a little more distractedly now - with the other and thought that maybe this was all a bit strange and wrong.

Then Kikumaru licked Kaidoh's neck. His tongue was rough - of course it was - but nothing could have prepared Kaidoh for the sensation of that rough tongue against the sparse stubble of his throat. It was like. It was like. It was like exactly what it was: a cat licking his throat. It made him tip his head back, hoping Kikumaru would lick him again, and Kikumaru did, giving small, tasting licks all up Kaidoh's neck to his chin. Kaidoh felt sharp teeth nibble, lips closing softly against his chin, and Kaidoh ignored his subconscious which was hissing _You're going to kiss a cat!_ and moved his head down and caught Kikumaru's strange mouth in his own.

Kikumaru's tongue was thin and darting, leaving insubstantial melting touches inside Kaidoh's mouth that weren't enough. Kaidoh chased Kikumaru's tongue with his own, and Kikumaru's purr swelled into a growl of pleasure. Kikumaru wound the fingers of one hand (paws? Were they paws now?) into Kaidoh's hair, and Kaidoh could feel occasional pin-pricks against his scalp, just like Karupin sitting on his lap. Kaidoh had his own erection now which he pushed against Kikumaru's, seeking friction, needing pressure and he and Kikumaru began to rut against each other in earnest, pressing their crotches together, shaking a little, uncoordinated, slipping. Kikumaru pushed Kaidoh against the lockers, and a sudden metallic shudder rang through the quiet of the clubhouse and Kaidoh felt Kikumaru's hand move between his legs, cupping him, squeezing him, and his first instinct was to press into Kikumaru's touch, but also the thought of claws anywhere near his crotch sent a heady thrill of fear through him.

He put his hand over Kikumaru's and tugged it gently away, causing Kikumaru to mew. He looked into Kikumaru's face and said the first words it felt like he'd spoken in hours. He wondered suddenly whether Kikumaru would be able to understand him.

'No claws,' he said anyway.

Kikumaru raised his hand between their faces and very slowly, so Kaidoh could be in no doubt, retracted the little claws that had appeared at the ends of his fingers in place of his fingernails. Kaidoh noticed the dark pads of harder flesh on his palm and fingers too, and the thought of these against him incinerated any doubts. He closed his eyes and nodded, and knew there was no going back.

He felt his fly being undone and his underwear shoved down and suddenly that rough, soft palm was closing around him, the barest movements producing fireworks of sensation, and Kikumaru seemed to know this, moving his hand only briefly and lightly until Kaidoh was panting and thrusting helplessly into his palm. And then Kikumaru was grabbing Kaidoh's hand and pressing it down over himself and Kaidoh couldn't believe what he was feeling.

He knew the story of why female cats yowled so loudly when they mated. It was because the male cat had spines on its penis that dragged along the insides of the female cat. When he had first heard this he'd imagined the spines as porcupine quills, or needles, or metal hooks. But generally he found it too distressing to think about for long.

Now he knew what those 'spines' were like. He could feel them in his hand as Kikumaru's purr became rhythmic, rounding into a low yowl of pleasure with every thrust. They weren't spines at all. They were more like raised points of hardened skin, like tiny nipples tickling roughly all over Kaidoh's palm. Kaidoh moved his hand up and down Kikumaru, his palm so sensitised he was wondering if maybe he had discovered a new erogenous zone, feeling himself in Kikumaru's rough paw, panting into Kikumaru's neck, hearing Kikumaru's little growling yowls in his ear and they sped up, losing coordination altogether, just pressing into each other's hands, leaning weakly against each other until Kaidoh heard the tone of Kikumaru's yowls change, they grew higher and softer and Kaidoh looked into Kikumaru's face to see his eyes open and his pupils contract to narrow vertical slits and his irises flash green and he wasn't making any noise any more, just jerking into Kaidoh's hand, and Kaidoh felt warm wet pulsing over his fingers and suddenly Kikumaru let out the weirdest sound Kaidoh had ever heard, a sort of falling high-pitched mew like a bomb dropping and Kaidoh lost it then, jerking wildly into Kikumaru's soft sandpaper paw until he came harder and sweeter than he'd ever come in his life.

 

~

 

So that was how it started.

Kaidoh had ridden home with Kikumaru perched lightly between his arms on the crossbar. Kikumaru was unusually quiet, and Kaidoh dipped his nose into Kikumaru's hair every so often and breathed in. When they got to Kikumaru's house and he hopped off the bike, they looked at each other for a minute, Kikumaru smiling and Kaidoh serious. Then Kaidoh said, 'You're not a freak,' and Kikumaru darted forward to kiss him on the cheek and was gone.

After that they did their homework together at each other's houses. Eiji would uncurl his tail from under his school-shirt and Kaidoh would stroke it as they worked. It helped them both concentrate.

When he had grown into himself fully, Eiji turned out to be a Siamese, with a strawberry cream pelt, and darker red tail-tip and paws. He was wiry and strong, and unimaginably warm when he curled up around Kaoru at night. Kaoru always slept very deeply when Eiji stayed over.

Kaoru passed his animal biology classes with flying colours and was offered a place to study veterinary medicine at Tokyo University.

Eiji became adept at controlling the physical aspects of his feline nature and finally switched from tennis to gymnastics, eventually joining the Olympic gymnastics team.

Kaoru thought Eiji was beautiful.

Eiji thought Kaoru was a genius.

Every day when Kaoru was at his surgery, a frown grew in his forehead. He handled the animals he treated with the gentlest of touches, and spoke softly to them; he reserved his contempt for their foolish owners. By the end of the day the frown was like a bloodless cut between his eyebrows.

If Eiji was home (and he was often away travelling with his team) Kaoru would listen to him chatter about his day, and feel his heart-rate slowly decrease. Sometimes, especially if Eiji had been away, Eiji would stop chatting halfway through dinner, lay down his chopsticks and climb into Kaoru's lap. Kaoru would reach under Eiji's shirt and feel the fur appear under his palm, and the tail would unwind and they would both sigh and sink against each other. They would stay like that for a while, Kaoru looking up at Eiji, and Eiji's tail winding around them both.

Kaoru's frown was always gone by bedtime.


End file.
